Optimal onboarding is your greatest weapon against employee churn. There’s a lot of research into retention strategy as the labor market tightens - many companies are still failing to provide a robust programme dedicated to onboarding meaning that 17% of new employees leave within three months, many much sooner. With positive onboarding, it is 58% more likely that someone will stay with their organization for three years or more.
Onboarding specialist consultants report that an optimal onboarding process will not only increase retention of new employees, but the positive feelings will endure and spread to longer serving employees, too.
The information you disseminate should cover both the generic employee information covering areas such as benefits and safety procedures, and then also the role specific information that will support new starters in their job.
Expediting the development of new employees has a huge impact on your business objectives. The resulting loyalty and commitment you will see after a positive onboarding tips the balance in favor of a happy workforce who want to succeed.
Deciding what onboarding must meet in terms of company goals is vital, but also think about the personal expectations and achievements that your new recruits want to achieve as they advance their careers. If you can make a clear link between personal and company objectives, engagement will be stronger and more likely to endure. Plek’s HR onboarding app gives you sharp insights right from the onboarding 1st day, which communicates to employees that you are listening and acting on their feedback right from the start.
Plek’s widely tested templates support your onboarding process as employees gradually become integrated into your way of working. We start with preboarding and continue to reinforce your positive messages and key information beyond the initial introduction period. It’s a warm welcome underpinned with everything both employee and employer need to build their relationship. Plek helps your company to increase your grip on the 4 C’s of onboarding.
We know that onboarding isn’t about burdening your new recruits with rules and restrictions. The information you provide them should allow them to connect with your mission and inspire them to think about their own contribution to achieving this. It should be a coherent narrative that feels inclusive from day one.
It also doesn’t end with the final onboarding session and it isn’t just for new employees. Continuous onboarding can be used for staff who are transferring to a new role or department, after an organizational restructure or a significant change in company purpose and output.